The World Cup
by cleotheo
Summary: It's time for the Quidditch World Cup, and for the first time in decades England stand a chance of winning the prestigious tournament. However, the drama isn't just on the pitch, as off it a reunion between old friends is brewing. Light-hearted reunion story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Welcome to my new story – another short reunion. This story has 9 chapters in total and updates will be on Tuesdays and Fridays. Unlike a lot of my reunions, this story starts with the reason for the falling out and then moves on several years later to the reunion. I hope you all enjoy The World Cup.**

* * *

For the seventh years at Hogwarts, their final year at the wizarding school had a different feel to it than the previous six years. Right from day one the students had been aware that their time at Hogwarts was numbered and all too soon they would be leaving the safety of school behind and embarking on life outside of the school gates. As the year progressed the student's thoughts began to turn more often to their futures, and what awaited them once they'd graduated.

Some students had solid plans for their future, and others at least had some semblance of idea of what they were going to do once they left Hogwarts, but of course there were always the ones who had no idea what their future held. Ron Weasley was one of those who had no idea what he was going to do once he left school, and in fact he'd barely given the future much thought until one evening the boys were lounging around the dorm room talking and the topic of the future reared its head.

"Professor Sprout has arranged for me to begin an apprenticeship with a top herbologist," Neville Longbottom informed his friends. "It'll be so great. I'll learn all sorts and get to visit loads of different countries, studying plants around the world."

"That sounds great Neville," Harry Potter said, grinning at his friend and his obvious excitement. "How long will the apprenticeship last?"

"Until I'm fully qualified to either set up my own business or get a job somewhere," Neville replied. "Professor's Sprout's even dropped a few hints that I might want to take over from her one day."

"Would you want that, to become a Professor?" Dean Thomas asked.

"I don't know," Neville admitted. "I'm hardly a natural leader, am I? Now, I could imagine Hermione as a Professor."

"Yeah, she'd be way stricter than McGonagall or even Snape," Seamus Finnigan laughed.

"So, what about you, Harry?" Dean asked. "Are you still thinking about becoming an Auror?"

"Funny enough, I went off that idea," Harry replied with a grimace.

Harry's initial desire to become an Auror had started in fourth year when what was thought to be the former Auror, Alastor Moody, had taught Defence against the Dark Arts. Moody had encouraged Harry to pursue a career chasing dark wizards, but then he'd been exposed as a fraud. In fact, he himself was a Death Eater and he'd been posing as Moody to get Harry to a graveyard where Lord Voldemort was waiting to perform a ritual that would have resorted him to health. Fortunately, the ritual failed, and Voldemort ended up dead as a result. So, between Voldemort no longer being a threat and the wizard who'd encouraged him to become an Auror exposed as a fraud, Harry had gone off the idea of spending the rest of his life chasing dark wizards.

"So, what are you going to do?" Neville asked.

"Beats me," Harry answered with a shrug. "I'm sure something will turn up."

"It looks like you're the only one with plans for the future, Neville," Ron laughed.

"Actually, Dean and I have plans," Seamus said. "We're going into business together."

"Doing what?" Harry asked.

"We're going to open a bar," Dean answered. "We've been saving up for over a year, and it should be enough for us to find somewhere to buy."

"Wow, I had no idea you already had plans," Harry remarked.

"We didn't want to mention it until we knew it could happen," Seamus replied. "To be honest, it's only been recently that we've been sure we could afford to make it work."

"Well, make sure to invite us all to your big opening," Neville said.

"We're counting on you all to be regulars and bringing business out way," Dean said with a laugh.

"So how about you Ron?" Seamus asked. "Do you have any ideas about the future."

"Not really," Ron admitted with a shrug. "Although maybe Harry and I should take a leaf out of your book."

"What, set up a rival bar?" Dean said with a frown. "We don't need competition, Ron."

"Not a bar, but we could go into business together," Ron said. "What do you think, Harry? Fancy becoming partners?"

"In what sort of business?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, but we can come up with something," Ron replied with a half shrug. "Come on Harry, it'll be fun. Can't you just see us working together?"

"I suppose it could be fun," Harry admitted. "All we need now is a business idea," he added with a laugh, never for one minute thinking his best friend was being serious.

**{}{}{}{}{}**

Shortly before Easter, Dumbledore made an announcement that sent thrills of excitement through the seventh years that played quidditch. The final two matches of the year were to be played over the same weekend and scouts from several professional quidditch clubs were going to be present as they looked for new talent. For days afterwards, it was all anyone could talk about, and those involved with the four quidditch teams spent as much time as they could practising their skills in the hopes of impressing the scouts.

On the weekend of the big matches, the scouts arrived early on the Saturday morning and would be staying until late on Sunday evening. Gryffindor weren't playing until the Sunday when they were taking on Hufflepuff, but they were all in the stands to watch Ravenclaw take on Slytherin.

"This is so exciting," Ron gushed as he settled into his seat beside Harry.

"Is it?" Hermione Granger asked from Harry's other side, sounding anything but thrilled at what was happening.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," Ron pointed out. "Scouts don't normally come to Hogwarts. Imagine being snapped up by a quidditch team before you've even left school."

"I doubt they're going to snap anyone up this weekend," Harry chuckled. "They're probably just keeping an eye out for when we leave school."

"But even catching the eye of a scout will be great," Ron replied. "I wish we were playing today. I'll be a nervous wreck before tomorrow's match."

"I'm pleased we're playing tomorrow," Harry said. "This way we can see if there's any real competition from the Slytherins and Ravenclaws."

"I don't think so," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Ravenclaw have lost all their best players over the last couple of years."

"What about Slytherin?" Hermione asked. She suspected Ron hadn't even considered the Slytherins would be good enough to interest the scout as he disliked them on principal and never gave them any credit.

"Malfoy could be good enough," Harry said. "Especially now he's switched to chaser. He scored more goals than anyone last year."

"Beginner's luck," Ron snorted, not wanting to admit that the blond Slytherin had upped his game considerably since switching positions at the beginning of the previous year when he'd taken over as captain.

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "I think he's really good. If I was a scout, I would be interested in him."

Ron snorted in disgust, but he didn't argue as Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the match got under-way. Much to Ron's chagrin, Malfoy was the star of the game and he seemed to be scoring goals at will as Slytherin quickly took control of the game. By the time Slytherin won the match after an hour and a half, Malfoy had impressed everyone watching the game and it proved no surprise that by dinner time rumours were circulating that he'd had a private meeting with the scouts and was on the verge of being offered trials with more than one club.

"I hope we're as lucky tomorrow," Ron grouched when the rumours about Malfoy reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"I don't think it's about luck, it's about talent," Hermione said. "Luck won't get you noticed, talent will."

"Or money," Ron retorted, glancing over to the Slytherin table where Malfoy was holding court with his Slytherins.

"You can't possibly be accusing Malfoy of buying the scouts attention," Harry said with an unimpressed shake of his head. Years ago, he might have shared Ron's opinions, but he'd grown up a lot over the last couple of years and he had no real problems with the Slytherins, and that included Malfoy who had stopped trying to cause trouble with the Gryffindors as he too had grown up.

"Who knows what he's capable of," Ron muttered.

Refusing to get sucked into a pointless argument with Ron, Harry focused on keeping a clear head for the upcoming match. Until Dumbledore had mentioned the scouts, he hadn't considered a career as a professional quidditch player, but now the thought was in his head and it was all he wanted. Getting a nibble of interest from the scouts would be a dream come true for Harry, and he just hoped that he was good enough to draw their attention and give himself a chance at a career of a lifetime.

**{}{}{}{}{}**

"You're never going to believe it," Harry cried as he excitedly burst into the Gryffindor common room.

It was a couple of hours since Gryffindor had thrashed Hufflepuff in the final game of the year, and Harry had just come from a meeting in McGonagall's office with the quidditch scouts. He was the only Gryffindor to have been approached by the scouts, and when he'd headed off to attend the meeting, Ron had been sulking. He had been hoping his best friend would have gotten over his mood by the time he returned, but considering Ron remained in his seat, staring at the fire, when he'd burst into the room, it looked as though he was still smarting over being overlooked by the scouts.

"Come on Harry don't keep us hanging," Hermione urged. Quidditch may not have been her thing, but she was thrilled by the opportunity it looked as though Harry was about to get.

"I've got trials with two teams," Harry announced with a wide grin. "Both the Tornadoes and The Falcons want to see me in action. Although the scouts are fairly sure it's just a formality, and I'll be offered a chance to play quidditch with one of them."

"That's great, Harry," Hermione beamed as she gave her best friend a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said as his other friends gathered around to congratulate him. "What do you think Ron?" he asked, aware that his best friend had yet to say anything.

"I can't believe you're betraying me in this way," Ron spat as he got to his feet.

"Betraying you?" Harry frowned in confusion.

"We had plans, Harry," Ron said. "We were going to start a business together. But now you've gotten this opportunity and you've just cast me aside."

"What business is this?" Hermione questioned, wondering why neither of her friends had mentioned going into business together before now.

"There is no business," Harry replied, looking at Ron as though he was mad. "It was one remark, Ron. And that was bloody months ago. I can't believe you were even serious."

"And why wouldn't I be serious?" Ron demanded. "Am I not smart enough to run a business?"

"Of course, you could run a business, Ron. This isn't about your ability to succeed," Harry argued. "I didn't think you were serious as you never mentioned it again. I thought it was a joke."

"You mean, you thought I was a joke," Ron snorted.

"I do not," Harry snapped, annoyed by Ron's attitude. He knew his friend had inferiority issues, but he'd never once treated Ron as though he was anything but his equal. "But seriously Ron, what sort of business would we have had together? And where was the money coming from? Because unless I'm very much mistaken, you don't have any savings. And I know you wouldn't expect me to put up all the money."

Ron flushed red at Harry's words, leaving people watching to wonder if he had indeed expected Harry to fund a business for the pair of them to run.

"Just because we hadn't made solid plans, doesn't mean you should have just deserted me," Ron spluttered as he finally found his voice. "What do I do now, Harry?"

"That really isn't my problem, Ron," Harry said with a slight shrug. "You're my best friend, not my responsibility. It's not my duty to fix your life for you. What do you want to do, Ron?"

"I wanted to work alongside my best friend, but I guess I've lost that chance now," Ron sneered.

"You can't blame Harry for wanting to accept the trials," Hermione said, coming to the defence of her friend. "You said it yourself Ron, it's an opportunity of a lifetime. As Harry's friend, shouldn't you be supporting him and be happy for him? If the positions were reversed, he would be happy for you."

"It's easy to say that when it's Harry who's got the entire world at his feet," Ron retorted bitterly. "You think I would be used to it by now, wouldn't you? Everyone gets what they want except from me. I'm just forgotten about and overlooked."

"For Merlin's sake, Ron, grow up," Harry snapped. "I will not turn down the opportunity of a lifetime just because you're jealous. You can either accept that's it my life and I'm going to pursues a career in quidditch, or you can sod off."

"If that's what you want," Ron spat as he turned on his heel and strode from Gryffindor Tower in a huff.

"I'm sure he'll come around, Harry," Hermione assured her friend who was looking shell-shocked by Ron's departure.

"Of course, he will," Harry agreed with a shaky nod of his head.

However, Harry and Hermione were both wrong and by the time term ended a few weeks later, Ron was still sulking and not speaking to Harry. He also wasn't speaking to Hermione, as in his eyes she'd taken Harry's side and shown that she wasn't truly his friend. Even though Harry and Hermione were surprised by how long Ron was holding a grudge, they'd still been confident that he would come around and things would return to normal. However, less than two weeks after leaving Hogwarts, Ron went off travelling having still not made peace with his two best friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Eight Years Later.**

Stopping outside of the flat she shared with her brother in a small wizarding town in New Zealand, Ginny Weasley, removed an envelope from her hands. Inside the envelope was a present from her boss to say thank you for all the extra hours she'd put in recently. The present was one most people in the wizarding world would kill for, and in fact it was something Ginny herself had been overwhelmed to receive. However, she wasn't sure how her brother would take her news that she had tickets for the quidditch World Cup final which would take place the following weekend a few miles from the muggle town of Christchurch.

For eight years quidditch had been a dirty word as far as Ron was concerned, and he'd all but turned his back on the wizarding sport he'd once loved so much. Although, Ginny was aware that it wasn't quidditch itself he'd fallen out of love with, it just pained him too much to watch the sport that had lost him his best friend. Because of quidditch, he'd lost Harry, and Ginny didn't think her brother had ever gotten over losing the best friend he'd ever had.

Ginny herself also felt as though she'd lost Harry because of quidditch, which was why she'd joined Ron on his travels a few months after leaving Hogwarts. When her brother had first stormed off she'd agreed with the rest of the family that he was overreacting, and that Harry couldn't be blamed for accepting such an amazing opportunity. However, it seemed to Ginny that from the moment Harry passed his trials and signed for The Falmouth Falcons, he'd changed.

Even though nothing had happened between the couple, Ginny had always harboured hopes of a romance with Harry, and her brother's best friend had implied he was interested a few times. However, once he'd left school and started playing quidditch, he'd just seemed to forget all about Ginny. He'd rented a flat with Hermione, and even though they'd denied it, Ginny had been convinced something was going on between them. But the final straw came when she'd made a not so subtle play for Harry upon leaving school and he'd told her in no uncertain terms that he wasn't interested. Nursing a broken heart, she'd fled the country and ended up with Ron, which was where she'd been ever since.

"I've got to try though," Ginny muttered to herself as she dispelled thoughts of the last past and let herself into the flat.

For four years the siblings had been in New Zealand, after years of travelling before that, and they both now thought of it as home. While Ginny worked as a personal assistant to one of the leading wizarding businessmen in New Zealand, Ron managed a beach-side bar. The flat they rented was modest, but it offered stunning views of the sea and was more than large enough for them to live together in harmony without getting in each other's way.

Entering the flat, Ginny found Ron lounging on the sofa with the radio blasting loud music. Turning the music off, she received a frown from her brother as he sat up.

"I was listening to that," he grouched.

"If you carried on listening to it at that volume you would have gone deaf," Ginny retorted.

"Sometimes you sound so like Mum," Ron chuckled.

Neither of them had seen Molly since leaving home, eight years previously for Ron and seven for Ginny, but they both still wrote to her every few weeks and she was always sending them parcels and letters. The only topic not up for discussion was Harry and Hermione, as Ron had made it clear when he'd left that his friendship with the pair were over. Ginny had also taken a similar stand when she'd left home to join her brother on his travels, although she doubted Molly would have kept her updated about the pair anyway as they were Ron's friends.

"I received a gift from my boss today," Ginny told her brother.

"He's not trying to seduce you, is he?" Ron questioned, getting up and following his sister into the compact kitchen.

"No, he's nearly sixty," Ginny replied, wrinkling her nose with distaste. "It's a thank you for all the extra hours I've been working recently."

"He should have just given you a pay rise," Ron said with a shrug. "You certainly earn it. Three times last week you weren't back from work when I went to the bar, and I was working the late shift."

"He has hinted a pay rise is in my future," Ginny said. "But this is a gift for now. A gift I was hoping to share with you."

"What is it? Chocolates?" Ron asked, looking to see if his sister was carrying anything.

"No," Ginny replied as she slid the envelope containing the tickets over the kitchen counter towards her brother.

Ron opened the envelope and when he saw the tickets, several emotions washed over him at the same time. It was inevitable quidditch tickets reminded him of Harry, and for a moment all he could think about was his best friend and the pain he'd felt on losing that friendship. However, jostling behind the pain were happier memories of the only other time he'd attended a world cup. He would never forget the final his father had taken him to attend the summer before fourth year, and how amazing it had been to witness the immense talent of Viktor Krum in person.

"Please don't dismiss them out of hand," Ginny urged her brother as he slid the tickets back into the envelope.

"I'm not dismissing them," Ron replied quietly.

"So, you would think about coming with me?" Ginny asked. Even though she'd made friends since they'd settled in New Zealand, the first person she'd thought of when she'd received the tickets was her brother. It was Ron she wanted to go to the quidditch with, not any of her other friends.

"I don't know, Gin," Ron muttered.

"You can't avoid quidditch for the rest of your life," Ginny pointed out. "You used to love it. And who in their right mind would turn down tickets for the final. Come on Ron, it'll be just like old times. We'll have a blast."

"What if he's there?" Ron asked, misery etched on his face. "What if England are in the final and Harry's playing."

"Firstly, you don't even know who's in the final," Ginny argued. "And even if England are there, you don't know Harry's playing. His career might not have taken off. Just because he signed for a professional club doesn't mean he became a star."

"He will have, this is Harry we're talking about," Ron snorted. "He was a star just because of who he was."

"Quidditch doesn't work like that though," Ginny protested. "Being The-Boy-Who-Lived, wouldn't have guaranteed Harry a good career. He would have had to prove himself, and he may have been the star seeker at Hogwarts, but there's a lot more competition out in the real world. For all we know, he could have crashed and burned years ago. He might be living some boring life back in England with his quidditch dreams in tatters."

"Do you think so?" Ron asked, perking up slightly at the thought of his old friend living a boring life with his glittering career having failed to take off.

"I don't know Ron, but I do know that you can't let Harry hold you back any longer," Ginny said passionately. "Let's go to the quidditch, and let's enjoy ourselves. Who cares what Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are doing? We've got our lives here, and I don't know about you, Ron, but I like my life."

"So do I," Ron admitted. Even though he still missed Harry he had to admit it felt great to be out of his shadow and not to be judged as Harry's Potter's best friend.

"So, what do you say?" Ginny asked. "Will you come with me to the quidditch?"

"I'll come," Ron agreed with a grin, excitement bubbling up inside him at the thought of watching a live match after so many years.

"And if Harry's there?" Ginny checked, not wanting to take Ron if he was going to slump into a depression if England were in the final and Harry was indeed playing.

"Harry who?" Ron returned.

"That's the spirit," Ginny grinned. "Now I wonder who is in the final. Do you think we should find out?"

"Nah, let's have a surprise," Ron said. They'd managed to go this long without hearing about the World Cup, despite the fact it was taking place on their doorstep, so he was sure they could get to the final without discovering which two teams would fight it out to be crowned the best in the world.

**{}{}{}{}{}**

Despite never having been a fan of quidditch, Hermione found herself on the edge of her seat as the semi-final of the world cup between England and Australia unfolded. It was an exceptionally tight game and although England kept squeaking ahead on goals, they couldn't build up enough of a lead to put the game out of Australia's reach. With each passing minute it was becoming more and more obvious that the outcome of the game would rest on the two seekers and whoever caught the golden snitch would win the game for their country and catapult them into the final.

"I can't look," Daphne Greengrass, the witch sitting next to Hermione cried, as she buried her head in her hands. "Tell me when it's over, Hermione."

"You could be sitting like that for ages yet," Hermione laughed as she sought out her best friend, who was flying around the stadium doing his best to find the snitch and become a hero for the team and its supporters. "I don't think Harry has the snitch in his sights."

"I knew he shouldn't have switched from his glasses," Daphne muttered as she dared to glance at the action.

"He hasn't worn glasses to play quidditch since school," Hermione pointed out. Even though Harry still wore glasses in his everyday life, when it came to play quidditch he opted for contact lenses as it was safer.

"But he looks so much sexier in his glasses," Daphne pouted. "Especially when they're all he's wearing," she added mischievously.

"I don't want to know, Daph," Hermione said with a grimace. "Harry's like a brother to me, so I'd rather not picture him in nothing but his glasses."

"I can assure you it's a very good picture," Daphne said with a wistful smirk. "He's all rippling muscles and a very impressive package."

"Stop," Hermione begged. "I never thought I would say this, but let's focus on quidditch."

"That's too nerve-wracking," Daphne argued. "Harry will be devastated if he doesn't catch the snitch."

"He will," Hermione replied with confidence. "He's the best."

"I think Krum's fans might argue with that," Daphne said. "Last night he caught the snitch in under ten minutes to get Bulgaria into the final."

"He got lucky," Hermione retorted with a shrug. She hadn't seen the game, but all the gossip reckoned that it was just chance that Krum had spotted the snitch so quickly after one of its wings had gotten snagged on one of the stands. "Harry's been outperforming him all tournament."

"So, you think if we make the final that Harry can beat Krum?" Daphne checked. Normally she was a positive person, but for some reason she was always super cautious when it came to Harry and his success as a quidditch star.

"He can," Hermione confirmed with a nod of her head. "Krum's good, but he's past his peak. Harry is the best seeker in the world, and England are quite possibly the best team."

"With the best captain," Daphne teased with a laugh.

"I never said that," Hermione argued, although she couldn't help but smile.

"But you were thinking it," Daphne predicted.

"It may have crossed my mind," Hermione replied with a coy smile as her eyes turned to the action and located the captain of the England quidditch team, who promptly tossed the quaffle through one of the rings to score yet another goal.

"Isn't love grand. Look at you nearly drooling," Daphne laughed. "You're not doing too badly for an old married woman, Hermione."

"Don't knock it," Hermione retorted with a laugh. "One day you'll be an old married woman, drooling over Harry as he shows off his quidditch skills."

"If you take out the old, I'll be happy," Daphne retorted.

"You were the one who brought age into things," Hermione shot back at her friend. "Hell, I'm not even thirty yet."

"Okay, so you're a young, married woman," Daphne corrected. "But you were still drooling."

"I was not drooling, I was merely appreciating the talent on show," Hermione replied. "And he is very talented."

"He is a good quidditch player," Daphne conceded.

"I wasn't talking about his quidditch talents," Hermione retorted with a mischievous grin of her own.

Laughing merrily, the two witches turned their attentions back to the game in hand and less than ten minutes later, Harry made a spectacular dive towards the ground to catch the snitch and to send England into the World Cup final where they would face Bulgaria and Harry would test his skills against one of the most famous seekers in the world – Viktor Krum.


	3. Chapter 3

The mood in the England dressing room following their victory over Australia was euphoric. It was the first time in years that the England team had made the final, and there was a genuine belief among the players that they could go all the way and win the tournament. However, the team were under no illusions and they knew that they would go into the final as the underdogs as Bulgaria had been a regular feature in the final of the Quidditch World Cup over the last few tournaments. Although to be fair, they'd often gotten through to the final on the back of their world-famous seeker, Viktor Krum, and this time England had a seeker good enough to rival Krum in the form of Harry.

Not that Harry was taking too much for granted, and he understood as good as their victory over Australia had been, they would need to step it up another level if they were going to beat Bulgaria and win the world cup for the first time in decades. Looking around at his fellow team-mates, Harry just hoped that they weren't getting too complacent and realised there was still a lot of work to be done. However, he knew there was one person who wouldn't be thinking too far ahead and that was the team captain, Draco Malfoy.

In fact, Draco was sitting slightly apart from the rest of the team, so Harry wandered over to join his friend. As well as both playing for England, they also both played for the same domestic team, The Falmouth Falcons. The moment they'd realised they were going to be playing for the same team, they'd made a vow to put the past behind them and learn to get along. In fact, they'd done more than learn to get along, they'd become genuine friends and these days the only people Harry was closer to were his girlfriend, Daphne, and his oldest friend, Hermione.

"What's wrong?" he asked, settling down next to Draco. "You don't look like we've just won the biggest match of our careers."

"The biggest match of our careers is yet to come," Draco retorted. "All this will mean nothing if we don't win the final."

"Of course it will," Harry tutted. "I'm not going to lie, winning the World Cup would be great, and it's what we're all here for. But we've just achieved something no England team has managed for decades. We're in the World Cup final, and that alone is worth celebrating."

"You're right, but I still want more," Draco confessed. "I want to win the World Cup, Harry."

"You and me both, mate," Harry agreed with a nod. "But for now, let's celebrate the fact we're in the final. We should get changed and head back to the hotel for the party."

The team's management had arranged the party to celebrate the team's achievements in the tournament, regardless of the result of the semi-final. However, since they'd won it was going to be a much better party than it would have been had they lost the match and were just celebrating getting to the semi-finals.

"Before I can join the party, I've got to do my captain duties with the press," Draco remarked with a slight grimace.

"Rather you than me," Harry chuckled as the pair began to get themselves sorted so they could leave the stadium.

When Draco had been appointed the England captain two years ago, there'd been some speculation about how the appointment would affect the pair's friendship as neither of them were captain of their domestic team, The Falcons. However, Harry had never once resented the fact Draco had been offered the captain's job over him. In fact, it was a job that he didn't really envy, as although he'd captained Gryffindor in school, it was a role he'd never really taken to. Some people were natural leaders, like Draco, and they were the people who made the best captains in Harry's experience.

Once the team had stopped celebrating, they all got dressed to head back to the hotel, but before they left, Draco said a few words, congratulating the team on their efforts. He then allowed them to head back to the hotel, to join their friends and family at the arranged party, before taking himself off to fulfil his press duties as captain of the victorious England Quidditch team.

Even though dealing with the press was his least favourite task as England captain, it was still one that Draco was more than capable of. Right from the start of his quidditch career, he'd made it clear to the reporters that he would only talk about quidditch, his private life was strictly off limits. Of course, that didn't mean the odd journalist wouldn't occasionally try to throw in a question about his private life, but Draco was always alert and refused to be drawn on any subject other than quidditch. Although the good thing was that now he was England captain it was even easier to avoid the personal questions as he didn't even have to spend much time, if any at all, discussing his own part in the match. Instead he could focus on his team-mates and making it clear to the press that the England team had every belief that they were good enough to go all the way and lift the trophy at the weekend.

Given that the England team were currently amid their best performance at a World Cup for years and had just reached the final for the first time in decades, Draco's time with the press was slightly longer than he would have preferred. However, he was a consummate professional and he made sure that the press had everything they wanted, and needed, to keep them supporting the team. But finally, Draco was free to go, and after nearly two hours, he finally left the quidditch stadium and headed back to the team hotel.

With how long he'd been dealing with the press, Draco knew the party would already be in full swing, so he headed straight to the rooftop bar where the festivities were taking place. Emerging out onto the rooftop, which housed a cocktail bar, Draco found the entire place hung with England flags and the bar serving speciality cocktails with an English theme. The team looked to be having a great time, and the air was filled with laughter.

One of the first people Draco spotted was Harry, sitting at one of the booths beside the rooftop pool. However, Harry was not alone. Daphne was with him and the pair were all over each other. Not wanting to intrude on the couple, as he knew from experience that when she'd had a bit to drink Daphne's mouth ran away with her and she revealed intimate matters that Draco had no desire to know about, he avoided them and tried to locate his wife.

It didn't take Draco long to find his wife, who was sipping on a red cocktail as she chatted to one of the team's sponsors. Although instead of approaching his wife straight away, Draco took a moment to appreciate how beautiful she looked in a knee length figure hugging cream and brown dress. Although to Draco, his wife always looked beautiful, and he often wished he'd realised it when he was younger. But it had taken him until after they'd left school for him to realise and appreciate that Hermione Granger was his perfect match. Although, he understood he might never have realised it if he hadn't ended up signing for the same quidditch team as Harry.

It was as Draco and Harry's friendship grew that they got to know each other's friends. For Draco, his group of friends were the same as they had been in school, but thankfully they'd all grown up and the Slytherins hadn't had an issue with accepting Gryffindors into their circle. Harry's friends were mostly the same group of people he'd been friendly with in school, minus the two youngest Weasleys who had left the country and seemingly severed their ties to their old friends. Not that Draco had been overly bothered by the lack of Weasleys he had to learn to get along with, as experience had already taught him that he wouldn't have stood much chance befriending either Ron or Ginny.

Thankfully, he had no such issues with Hermione, and right from the start there had been an attraction between them. It had made Draco wonder if the attraction had always been there, hidden by house rivalries and his own bigoted attitude of his younger years. But whether it had always been present, or was just a new development, the sparks between them were obvious not just to each other but to all their friends as well. It had been their friends who had encouraged the romance, and Draco has asked Hermione out following a conversation with Harry, where he urged Draco to make Hermione happy.

Making Hermione happy had then become the main aim in Draco's life. A few dates were all it took for him to fall hopelessly in love with her, and from the moment he realised she'd stolen his heart, he'd been determined to be the best possible person he could be to be worthy of her love. Not that Hermione seemed to think he needed to try to be worthy of her love, and for some crazy reason she even loved him when he was having an off day and was a complete and utter git. All in all, she was perfect for him, and he liked to think that he was the perfect wizard for his intelligent, beautiful, fiery wife.

Eager to join Hermione, Draco grabbed himself a cocktail, a vibrant blue number called London's Calling, and headed over to join his wife. Greeting both the sponsor and Hermione, he slipped his arm around his wife's waist and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

"That was a good win today, Draco," the sponsor said with a smile.

"It was," Draco agreed with a nod of his head. "And hopefully we've got one more win to come."

"We have every faith in you and your team, Draco," the sponsor said. "I'll leave you two to it. It was very nice to talk to you Mrs Malfoy," he said to Hermione, before disappearing into the crowds.

"Hi," Hermione greeted, turning to her husband once they were alone.

"Hi yourself," Draco returned with a grin, and despite the fact they were in public and he didn't like public displays off affection, he leaned down and pressed his lips against his wife's. "Did you enjoy the game?" he asked when they finally broke their kiss before it got too steamy for public.

"I did," Hermione replied. "You were great."

"It's easy to look good surrounded by so many talented players," Draco replied modestly.

"Modesty does not suit you, Draco," Hermione laughed. "I can see it in your eyes that you're preening at the fact I said you were good."

"Actually, you said I was great," Draco corrected with a cocky smirk, which was much more his style than modesty.

"When will I learn not to inflate that ego of yours?" Hermione teased.

"It's just natural to praise someone as amazing as I am," Draco chuckled.

"Big headed git," Hermione said, shaking her head in amusement. "Since you're so amazing, you can be a good husband and get me a fresh drink."

"What are you drinking?" Draco asked as his wife finished the dregs of her drink and handed him her glass.

"That one was called a Tudor Rose," Hermione replied. "But you can always surprise me."

Heading to the bar, Draco picked up a fresh drink for both himself and his wife. He then returned to Hermione, who had nabbed a small table situated beside the safety proofed edge of the roof. The table offered stunning views of their surroundings, and Draco remarked on what a stunning country they were in as he joined his wife at the table.

"It is a beautiful country," Hermione agreed. "Maybe we should stay on for a while after the tournament."

"I would love to, but I don't think that's going to be possible," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "There's likely to be dozens of events organised back home once the tournament is over, especially if we actually win the cup."

"Which you will," Hermione said confidently. "I have every faith in the team."

"So does Harry," Draco said as his eye caught his friend, who was now on his feet and swaying to the music in the bar with his arms wrapped around Daphne's waist.

"Do you not?" Hermione asked her husband with a surprised frown.

"I have every faith we can win," Draco said. "Harry just has a lot more riding on it."

"Like what?" Hermione questioned, watching her best friend with Daphne and thinking how happy and in love he looked.

"You can't tell anyone," Draco whispered, turning back to his wife and leaning closer to her. "If we win the World Cup, Harry is planning a public proposal for Daphne."

"Harry is going to propose in public?" Hermione questioned, slightly taken aback by the news. Not that Harry was going to propose, as she suspected it had been a long time coming, but the public bit didn't really sound like her best friend.

"Only if we win the World Cup," Draco replied. "He's still going to propose, even if we lose, but if that happens he's going to wait and take Daphne away to pop the question. But he's all prepared for proposing at the end of the match if we win."

"Why so public?" Hermione asked.

"He's in love, and he wants the world to know it," Draco answered with a shrug. "That's what he told me when I asked about his plan. Personally, I think he's nuts."

"Why? Because you wouldn't dream of doing such thing?" Hermione teased. "You would never declare your love for me in public."

"Do I need to?" Draco asked. "You know how I feel about you, and you're the only person who matters. But if you're unsure, I can make some sort of public declaration."

"Don't you dare," Hermione hissed. The thought of Draco making a big fuss of their love in public didn't appeal to her at all. "I don't think public declarations are what either of us are about. I don't care if the entire world doesn't know that we're genuinely in love, we know, and like you said, we're all that matters."

"But a big proposal would appeal to Daphne," Draco remarked.

"Yes, it would," Hermione agreed with a smile as she nodded her head. Daphne was most certainly the outgoing sort, and Hermione knew she would get a real kick out of having Harry declare his love for her in front of the entire wizarding world.

"I guess all Harry is trying to do is make Daphne happy," Draco said.

"I suppose if he decides against the public proposal, he could always try asking her to marry him wearing just his glasses," Hermione laughed. "I know that would appeal to Daphne. She spent quite a while gushing earlier how sexy she found Harry when his glasses were all he was wearing."

"Now that is a thought I could have gone my whole life without hearing," Draco said with a disgusted look on his face. "I don't want to think about Harry wearing nothing but his glasses."

"Neither did I, but Daphne was very insistent on how appealing the sight was," Hermione said.

"I think I'll pass on that sight," Draco drawled with a roll of his eyes. "And now I need to do something to get that horrific image out of my head."

"Like what?" Hermione asked her husband.

"I could always picture my wife in nothing but glasses," Draco said with a sinful smirk as he once again moved closer to Hermione. "Or better yet, I could picture her wearing nothing but those kinky black knee-high boots I love her in."

"It just so happens they somehow found their way into my suitcase," Hermione replied, giving Draco a knowing smile. "I suppose I might be persuaded to slip them on later."

"While slipping everything else off?" Draco checked hopefully.

"I think that can be arranged," Hermione agreed with a nod as she slid her hand under the table and gave her husband's thigh a squeeze. "After all, you deserve a treat for leading England into the final."

"And what sort of treat will I get if we actually win the tournament?" Draco asked, wondering how soon they could ditch the party and go back to their suite.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Hermione replied with a laugh as she pulled Draco up out of his seat. "But for now, I want to dance."

Even though he was desperate to get his wife alone, Draco had to content himself with spending a few more hours at the party to celebrate the team's good run at the World Cup. Luckily, Hermione was just as eager to get away as he was, and as soon as it was acceptable the couple said their goodbyes and headed off for a private celebration – one which would involve a knee-high pair of black leather boots, a bottle of champagne and a bowl of fresh strawberries.


	4. Chapter 4

The final of the Quidditch World Cup was always about so much more than the actual game that would be played between the two teams. Even though the game itself was scheduled for a late afternoon start, the day itself was a buzz of activity around the stadium as people got into the festive spirit. To make the most of their experience and take in everything the final day of the World Cup had to offer, Ron and Ginny arrived with hours to go before the match.

The stadium itself stood in the centre of a large field, but the fields around it were full of the magical community. There was a couple of fields full of tents, as camping was the easiest way for visiting spectators to stay close to the action. All sorts of stalls had also been set up around the stadium, and they were doing a roaring trade selling food, drink and souvenirs to the public.

As agreed, neither Ginny or Ron knew who was in the final, but as they moved about the stalls and explored the area they found out just who they would be watching. The first team they realised was in the final was Bulgaria, as one of the first stalls they visited were selling figurines of the world-famous Seeker, Viktor Krum.

"Remember when you had one of these?" Ginny laughed, picking up one of the figures and showing it to her brother. "What happened to it?"

"I don't remember," Ron replied with a shrug, even though he could vividly recall tearing the limbs from the figure after the Yule Ball when Krum had attended with Hermione.

"Can you believe Bulgaria are in the final again?" Ginny questioned as they moved onto the next stall.

"They're a good team," Ron replied. "Or at least they were. I don't really know what they're like now."

"I don't think they were ever a good team," Ginny argued. "In my opinion they've been helped by having Krum in their side. Without him, they would be distinctly average. Just look at the World Cup we went to back home. Krum pulled them through to the final single handed, and even though he caught the snitch the team were so far behind that it made no difference. Nah, without Krum, they're useless."

"I guess we'll see when Krum retires," Ron said. "He can't have much longer in him. He was eighteen when we first saw him in action, and that was what, twelve years ago?"

"Something like that," Ginny agreed with a nod. "That would make him about thirty now. He might still have another World Cup in him you know."

As the pair debated over whether this would-be Krum's final world cup, they grabbed some food and a drink as they continued to wander the stalls. Most of the stalls around them were aimed at the Bulgarian fans, but as they continued to explore they came across a stand selling England flags and scarves.

"Bollocks," Ron swore as they stopped at the stand. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"You don't even know if Harry will be playing," Ginny pointed out.

"Knowing my luck, he will be," Ron grouched.

"So, what if he is?" Ginny snapped. "We've moved on, Ron. Or at least we're supposed to have. Who cares if Harry is playing, we can still enjoy the game."

"I suppose we could always root for Krum," Ron suggested with a devious smirk.

"We could," Ginny chuckled. "Do you want to go back and get some Bulgarian flags and scarves?"

"Yeah, but let's get some England ones just in case Harry isn't playing," Ron replied.

Retracing their footsteps, the siblings bought some Bulgarian flags, a hat and a scarf each. They then headed back towards the stadium, stopping on their way to pick up England merchandise in case they decided to support their home team. However, as they reached the large stadium the matter was decided for them as hanging on either side of the entrance was two posters of the two seekers. On one side of the entrance hung Krum's picture, the Bulgarian wizard smiling dazzlingly, and on the other side hung a picture of Harry, also wearing a huge grin. Above the stadium entrance was a banner declaring the match the battle of the seekers.

"I guess that answers the Harry question," Ginny remarked.

"It does," Ron said softly, staring wistfully up at the picture of his former friend. Despite everything he said to Ginny, he still missed Harry and he was torn over how he felt knowing that his old friend had gotten the career he'd hoped for.

"He looks different," Ginny said with a frown as she also scrutinised the picture. "Hotter."

"He's not wearing his glasses," Ron pointed out.

"I always said he should get contacts," Ginny said. "The glasses used to hide his eyes."

"I always thought they enhanced his eyes," Ron snorted. "They wouldn't have done him much good if they'd hidden his eyes. Without his glasses, Harry could barely see."

"I meant that his glasses hid the beauty of his eyes," Ginny tutted at her brother. "He looks so much better with his whole face on display."

"I always thought the glasses suited him," Ron shrugged.

"Only because you were used to him wearing them," Ginny countered.

"I don't suppose it really matters," Ron said, turning away from the large poster of his old friend. "Something tells me that Harry won't care what we think of his new look."

"You know if you want to reach out to him, we can try and catch him after the match," Ginny offered. "It might not be too late to mend some fences."

"I don't know, Gin," Ron muttered. Part of him wanted to snap up his sister's offer, but another part of him feared that the damage had already been done and nothing he could say or do would make things right with Harry.

"The decision is yours," Ginny said. "Do you want to go into the stadium now, or wait for a bit?"

"Let's wait," Ron said, checking the time and finding it was still a couple of hours before the match was due to start. "I saw an ice-cream stand a bit further back, let's go and get an ice-cream."

Leaving behind the stadium, and the reminder that they would soon be seeing Harry for the first time in eight years, Ron and Ginny headed off for an ice-cream. By the time they'd finished their dessert, with Ron having a second cone, and returned to the stadium they found the crowds had increased. Not only were there more people queueing to enter the stadium, but the press had arrived, and they were huddled around a group of people.

Eager to see what the fuss was about, Ron and Ginny pressed themselves into the throng of people. When they finally broke through the crowds, they found the reporters were firing questions at a group of well-dressed witches. From the questions it was clear that the group were the wives and girlfriends of the England players. However, both Ron and Ginny only had eyes for one witch. A very familiar brunette who was wearing a pair of tight-fitting dark jeans, a silky, emerald green top and a black jacket.

"Hermione," Ron whispered, just as one of the reporters called her name.

"What does it feel like to be the wife of the captain who could lead England to victory for the first time in decades?" the reporter who'd shouted for Hermione questioned.

"It feels the same as it always feels to be married to him," Hermione replied with a laugh. "But I will be very proud when he lifts that cup along with the rest of the team."

"So, you're confident they can win?" the reporter asked.

"I'm always confident," Hermione replied with a dazzling smile as the photographers snapped a couple of pictures of her.

"She is quite the celebrity," Ginny muttered with a frown as Hermione turned to a stunning blonde witch and together the pair posed for a few pictures before announcing that it was time for them to take their seats in the stadium.

"Of course she is, she's married to Harry," Ron said, looking slightly crestfallen at the news. He'd never done anything about his long-term crush on Hermione, mainly because deep down he'd always known that they were fundamentally incompatible, but he'd never really pictured her getting together with Harry.

"What makes you say that?" Ginny gasped, looking back towards Hermione only to find her disappearing into the stadium with the blonde witch by her side.

"You heard the reporter, she's married to the captain," Ron snorted as they joined the queue to get into the stadium.

"That doesn't mean Harry's the captain," Ginny argued, not wanting to believe Harry was with Hermione as even though she'd long suspected there had been something between the pair, Harry had always denied liking Hermione in that sense, and if he was now with her, it meant he had lied to Ginny.

"Of course, he's the captain," Ron stated. "You don't have Harry Potter in your team and not make him captain. Besides, just look at all these posters, it's all about Harry," he added, gesturing to the pictures of Harry and Krum, which were also hung inside of the stadium.

"I can't believe they're together," Ginny hissed. "Harry swore to me that he didn't fancy Hermione. He swore they were just friends."

"Something's clearly changed since then," Ron said quietly.

"More like he was just lying when he told me nothing was going on," Ginny seethed. "I knew there was something going on when they moved in together. Separate rooms, my arse. They were probably at it then."

"It's not like you can do anything about it, Gin," Ron said with a shrug as they passed through security and set out to find their seats. "Let's just enjoy the match."

However, as fate would have it the seats Ron and Ginny were in were situated next to the stand where the players friends and family were sitting. In fact, they were only a few seats away from where the England players loved ones were sitting, and they had a perfect view of Hermione laughing and joking with the same blonde witch they'd seen her with earlier.

"Why do I think I know that witch Hermione is talking to?" Ginny asked her brother.

"I don't know," Ron replied with a shrug.

"Does she not look familiar to you?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe," Ron conceded, focusing on the blonde witch next to Hermione, just as she got to her feet to greet a couple who had just entered the players box. "Bloody hell," he whispered as he got a look at the couple the blonde witch, and then Hermione, greeted so warmly.

"What?" Ginny asked, not yet spotting what her brother had.

"It's the Malfoys," Ron said, gesturing to where the couple were settling into seats in front of Hermione and her familiar friend. They were also joined by a good looking, dark haired wizard, who again looked familiar, but Ron couldn't quite put a name to the face.

"I guess that means Malfoy made it as well," Ginny remarked. "He signed for the same team as Harry, you know."

"You never told me that," Ron said with a frown.

"You didn't want to know," Ginny countered. "Besides, I didn't think it mattered. I don't think they were that friendly."

"That could all have changed," Ron said with a frown, watching as Hermione leaned forward to speak to Narcissa Malfoy.

"I can't believe Harry and Hermione are friendly with the Malfoys," Ginny said as she shook her head.

Turning her head away in disgust, she thought she caught a glimpse of some familiar red hair. Focusing on where she'd seen the flash of red, Ginny gasped when she caught sight of her twin brothers, Fred and George, sitting at the back of the players box. However, they weren't alone, they were accompanied by Molly, Arthur and the witches they'd been dating eight years ago, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnett.

"Ron, look," Ginny said, nudging her brother.

"Bloody hell, half the family is here," Ron spluttered, totally blow away to see his parents and two of his brothers.

"Yep, and I think I know who the witch with Hermione is," Ginny said, watching as yet another young couple entered the box and settled down next to the Malfoys and the handsome wizard with them.

"Who?" Ron asked, barely able to tear his eyes away from his family. He was sort of hoping that if he kept looking at them, they might feel it and turn to see him and Ginny.

"Malfoy's friends," Ginny said, diverting Ron's attention back to where Lucius and Narcissa were sitting. "That couple who have just sat down, the witch is Pansy Parkinson, I'm sure of it."

"Of course," Ron gasped, recognising the raven-haired witch, even though she was rather attractive these days and didn't look so much like a pug. "And that's Theo Nott with her. The wizard with Malfoy's parents is Blaise Zabini, so the witch with Hermione is likely Daphne Greengrass."

"And Hermione is well and truly in with them," Ginny remarked.

"Disgusting," Ron spat. "But at least our family have the sense to stay well clear."

Ginny nodded in agreement, but less than two minutes later that illusion was shattered when four small, red-headed children burst into the stand with Charlie hot on their heels. The children were unmistakeably Weasleys, possibly two sets of twins given the way they all aimed for Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina. However, they didn't stay with the rest of the family for long before they barrelled down the stand and settled in among Hermione and the Slytherins, which afforded them better views of the game.

"I don't sodding believe this," Ron grumbled as he watched Lucius Malfoy grab onto the smaller of the two boys to stop him toppling over the edge of the stand, before settling him in between himself and his wife.

"Like it or not Ron, we're going to have to go over after the match," Ginny said. "I don't know about you, but I would like some answers."

Agreeing that answers would be good, Ron was just about to suggest they went over straight away, but the announcer suddenly declared that the teams would be making their way onto the pitch any moment now. Momentarily forgetting about their family in the next stand, Ron and Ginny let themselves get carried away with the crowds as the teams began to emerge. Bulgaria flew out onto the pitch first, making a fine display of their entrance and showcasing their star, Viktor Krum.

Then it was England's turn to enter the arena, which they did with as much pomp as their opposition. However, the display was slightly lost on Ron and Ginny, as they'd turned to each other with open mouths as the team was announced and led out by their captain, Draco Malfoy. It was now clear that they'd gotten everything wrong. Hermione wasn't married to Harry, she was married to Draco.


	5. Chapter 5

While Hermione and Daphne had attended every game of the World Cup, there were added supporters at the final. Before the team even set off for New Zealand tentative plans had been put into place for the final, which each player allowed to give out additional tickets to their friends and family. However, it wasn't until they made the final that arrangements were made, and the additional supporters arrived in New Zealand.

For Draco it was rather straightforward who he wanted to invite to the final. Obviously, he wanted his parents to be there, and in fact the couple had attended the earlier Quarter Final, so they were already in the country. He then wanted his closest friends to be there. His best friend, Blaise Zabini, accepted without hesitation as did Theo Nott and his wife Pansy Parkinson. However, his two oldest friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle ran a magical charter boat service in the Lake District, and they had so many bookings that they hadn't been able to spare the time. However, they'd both sent their best wishes and promised to throw Draco a lavish party on their best boat when he returned to England as the winning captain of the England quidditch team.

While Harry didn't have any family left to invite to the final, bar his godfather, Sirius Black, who spent most of his time travelling the world making up for the time he'd lost stuck in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit, he did have a surrogate family in the Weasleys, so he invited them to watch the final. Molly and Arthur snapped up his invitation, as did Charlie. Bill and his wife, Fleur, had wanted to attend the match, but Fleur was heavily pregnant, and it was inadvisable for her to travel so far in her condition. Percy also politely declined the invitation, claiming his work at the Ministry was far too important for him to take time off to attend a quidditch game. The twins had also initially turned the offer down, albeit it very reluctantly, as both had twins of their own these days and with Molly and Arthur attending the match, they had no-one to look after the children. However, Harry wasn't having that, and he insisted that the twins and their wives brought along the children. Harry had also asked Sirius to attend, but it was unsure if his godfather had even gotten the invitation, let alone if he would turn up at the match.

On the day of the match, everyone who had been invited to the match arrived early to enjoy the pre-match festivities. Hermione spent most of her morning with Draco, before he had to join up with the rest of the team. She then joined Daphne and the pair entered the stadium along with a few of the other wives and girlfriends of the team. As usual much of the press attention was on Hermione as the captain's wife, but like her husband she was an expert at handling the press and after giving them a couple of quotes, she posed for a few pictures with Daphne before heading inside the stadium to take her seat for the big match.

"I can't wait for the match to start," Daphne gushed as they took their seats in the second row of the stand allocated for friends and family.

"Neither can I, but I'm so nervous," Hermione admitted, totally unaware that as she and Daphne were talking they had an audience in the next stand over.

"It'll be fine, the boys are going to win, I can feel it," Daphne said, before getting to her feet to greet Draco's parents, and Blaise, who had just arrived.

Hermione also greeted her parents-in-law, and while she was on her feet, she spotted some of the Weasleys entering the stand and gave them a wave. Even though the family had seats at the back of the stand, it still offered great views and Hermione had already told Fred and George that if the kids wanted to come and watch the match from the front of the stand they would be looked after.

Not long after the Malfoys and Blaise had arrived, Theo and Pansy appeared. Of all of Draco's friends, Hermione was the least friendly with Pansy. It wasn't that they didn't like each other, or had failed to put the past behind them, it was just that they were so very different and didn't have a lot in common. Pansy was very much the typical pureblood princess, and while she didn't understand Hermione's desire for independence, Hermione couldn't wrap her head around anyone devoting their life to prioritising someone the way Pansy did with Theo.

"Here comes trouble," Lucius suddenly chuckled, smiling affectionately towards the back of the stand.

Turning around, Hermione watched as a frazzled looking Charlie entered the stand with four small red-headed children. The children were the two newest sets of Weasley twins. Fred and Alicia's twins were older at five years old, while George and Angelina's twins had just celebrated their fourth birthday. Each of them had a boy and a girl, and Hermione would always remember how George had ribbed Fred for having twins, before discovering his own wife was expecting twins just months later. Now both Fred and George were experiencing just what it was like to be parents of a set of mischievous twins, and both had developed a new-found sense of appreciation for their mother as they now understood what she'd had to deal with when they were little.

Once the twins had spoken to their parents, they came barrelling down to the front of the stand, waving their flags and scarves in support of the England team. Fred's son, Aidan, and his twin sister, Georgina, Georgie for short, immediately ran to Hermione for a hug before taking in the view from the front of the stand. George's daughter, Roxanne, who tended to get called Roxie, was the least boisterous of the foursome and she very carefully peered over the front of the stand, before moving back to sit in between Hermione and Daphne. However, her brother Freddie was quite possibly the most troublesome of them all and he almost went toppling over the front railing in his eagerness to see what was happening.

"Careful there, Freddie," Lucius said, his fast reflexes saving the four-year-old from a nasty fall. "Come and sit with Narcissa and I, and I'll lift you up in you can't see."

"Okay," Freddie replied happily, snuggling into the seat beside Lucius and Narcissa.

Chuckling at little Freddie's antics, Hermione was still unaware that their every move was being watched by two familiar faces in the neighbouring stand. However, her attention was well and truly diverted by the announcement of the two teams. Like everyone else she politely clapped the Bulgarian's arrival into the stadium, but she was on her feet cheering when the England team soared into the stadium, led by Draco.

"Go Uncle Harry. Go Uncle Draco," Aidan and Georgie cheered from the front of the stand, wildly waving their flags of support.

"Aunt Hermione will Uncle Harry catch the snitch?" Roxie asked seriously as she moved onto Hermione's knee to get a better view of the match that was about to begin.

"I hope so Roxie," Hermione replied. "Let's cheer him on."

When Roxie began to cheer, Freddie wasn't about to be outdone by his sister, so he climbed up onto his chair, so he was standing, and holding onto Lucius, began to cheer just as loud as his twin sister.

"I love these kids," Daphne laughed as the two four-year-old did their best to outdo one another with their cheering.

"So, do I," Hermione agreed, grinning at her friend. "But what I love most about them is that I can hand them back after a few hours."

"That is a plus," Daphne chuckled. "Sometimes I don't know how Angelina and Alicia cope."

"I'm sure they were both aware of what they were letting themselves in for when they married Fred and George," Hermione said. "Any kids of theirs were bound to be little tinkers."

"But so adorable," Daphne said as Roxie turned to blow her a kiss before resuming her cheering.

"That they are," Hermione replied with a smile, wondering if she and Draco would have children while he was still playing quidditch. It would be nice for their child to see Draco playing for England.

As the teams lined up ready to start the match, Hermione pushed aside the thoughts of children. She and Draco could discuss starting a family at another time, right now, she fully intended to sit back and enjoy the match. Or at least she would try and enjoy the match, but it would be hard when she knew how much it meant to Draco and Harry to perform to the best of their capabilities and win the quidditch world cup.

"Here we go," Blaise called excited as the referee blew his whistle and the balls were released into the air. "Come on England!"

For the first half hour, Hermione found herself lost in the game. Draco was in fine form, scoring more goals than anyone else on the pitch, and he was helping England build up a solid lead. The larger the lead was getting the more focus switched to the two-star seekers, but it was clear watching them that neither of them had spotted the snitch, and they were both taking care to keep a close eye on each other. In fact, around the forty-minute mark the two seekers each showed off their flying skills as they raced each other around the stadium, ducking and diving in ways which would have had lesser seekers falling off their brooms.

It was while Hermione was watching Harry swoop low over their heads and soaring just above the excited crowds that she spotted two familiar figures in the next stand. For a moment, Hermione thought she was seeing things, but as she watched the two supporters she realised that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her at all. Sitting in the next stand over were Ron and Ginny.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked as Draco scored a spectacular goal and Hermione failed to cheer with the rest of the stand.

"Over there," Hermione replied, gesturing to where her two old friends sat. "It's Ron and Ginny."

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked with a frown. Both younger Weasleys had left the country before Daphne had really gotten to know Harry and Hermione, but she knew that both her boyfriend and friend had been hurt by the way Ron especially had left and not kept in touch.

"Positive," Hermione answered. "Ron and Ginny are in the next stand."

"I wonder if they've seen us?" Daphne questioned.

"How can you miss us?" Hermione asked with a smile, looking towards the front of the stand where Blaise had joined Aidan and Georgie and the trio were performing some sort of tribal dance in support of England.

"Do you think they'll come over once the match is over?" Daphne questioned.

"I don't know, but I think I need to go and warn Molly and Arthur," Hermione said. "It's not just Harry and I the pair have ignored, it's everyone. I doubt they even know Fred and George have twins of their own."

"If they didn't know before, they know now," Daphne remarked.

Getting to her feet, grateful that Roxie had moved forward to stand on the seat next to Freddie in between Draco's parents, Hermione slipped past Daphne and into the aisle of the stand. Not wanting to get in people's way she quickly moved towards the back of the stand but feeling eyes on her she turned to where Ron and Ginny were sitting and froze when she found the pair of them watching her. Not sure what to do she gave the pair a tentative smile. In return Ron scowled at her before pointedly turning back to the game, while Ginny gave her a look that was a mix between disdain and annoyance before she also turned back to the game. Not sure what to make of what had just happened, Hermione carried on to the back of the stand, where she slid into an empty seat beside Charlie.

"Are the terrors behaving themselves?" he asked with a chuckle.

"They're having a whale of a time," Hermione replied. "I'm sure I've just heard Lucius offering to buy them all ice-cream."

"If he's buying, he can send some up here," Fred said, leaning across Charlie to grin at Hermione. "Us big kids like ice-cream as well."

"I'll see what I can do," Hermione said. "But I've actually come to tell you something. Ron and Ginny are in the next stand."

"They're what?" Charlie gasped, immediately turning to the stand next to them to try and spot his youngest brother and sister. "They are here," he muttered when he finally located them.

"I thought Molly and Arthur should know," Hermione said. She couldn't get to the couple without pushing past people, but she knew the message could be passed along the line of Weasleys until it reached the head of the family and his wife.

"Do you think they're going to speak to us?" Charlie mused.

"I don't know," Hermione answered with a shrug. "I know they've seen me, but they didn't exactly look happy about it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Hermione waited until the message had reached Molly and Arthur, and she was assured that they wouldn't be taken by surprise if their youngest two children suddenly turned up, before returning to her seat. Lucius and Narcissa had both noticed her absence, so she quickly filled them in on what was going on. Of course, that meant that Theo, Pansy and Blaise all found out, so within a matter of minutes the only people not aware of Ron and Ginny's presence were the young twins, who were all absorbed in the game, and Draco and Harry, who were both busy playing in the match.

Not sure what was going to happen, or if anything even was going to happen, Hermione turned her attention back to the match. In the time she'd been distracted England had continued to build on their lead, and as it often was the case when Bulgaria played a superior all round team, even Krum catching the snitch wouldn't win them the match. However, Hermione knew Harry wouldn't want to win that way. Even if they won the World Cup, it wouldn't feel like victory for Harry unless he'd caught the snitch.

Although much to Hermione's delight, and to all the England supporters watching, Harry was more than a match for Krum. In fact, it was becoming increasingly clear as the match wore on that Harry's abilities could even surpass Krum's. For years Krum had been the best seeker in the world but watching the way Harry was starting to get the better of him and fly rings around him, it was clear the tide was changing. Harry was clearly in the peak of his career, and when he and Krum caught sight of the snitch at the same time there wasn't many people in the stadium backing Krum to reach it before Harry.

"Come on Harry," Daphne shouted, jumping up and down beside Hermione as her boyfriend led the race for the tiny golden snitch.

"What happened to not being able to watch?" Hermione asked, unable to take her own eyes off the action as the snitch led Harry and Krum on a right merry dance.

"I can't tear my eyes away," Daphne gasped, clutching onto Hermione's hand as Harry expertly swerved past one of the goal posts and through the top hoop in chase of the snitch. Behind him, Krum was too big to fit through the hoop, so he was forced to swerve around it, losing valuable time and distance on Harry.

"He's going to do it," Hermione cried in excitement as Harry raised his hand from the broom and extended it out in front of him.

A moment later, Harry found a burst of speed from somewhere and surging forward, he plucked the snitch from the air in style. Instantly the announcers called the game and the stadium erupted as England won the World Cup by a landslide.


	6. Chapter 6

Unaware of the potential dramas that were brewing in the stands, Draco and Harry's focus was on the game they were participating in. It was the biggest match in their careers, and neither of them planned on messing up and being held accountable for England losing the World Cup.

As he played, Draco felt as though the game was the best he'd ever taken part in. He was in scintillating form, and the other team members were performing just as well. With such a solid team performance they began to dominate the Bulgarians, and it became increasingly clear that it was all down to who caught the snitch. Even so, Draco pushed the team further, so they could extend their lead so that even Krum catching the snitch wouldn't hand Bulgaria a victory. Not that Draco thought for one minute that Krum would catch the snitch, as he had utter faith in Harry and his abilities.

Although Harry himself wasn't as sure of his abilities when the match began. As good as he knew he was, he'd never actually played Krum before and he hadn't been sure how he would stack up against the most famous seeker in the world. However, Harry was pleased to find that early in the match they seemed evenly matched and some of his worries melted away. In fact, it even got to the stage that both he and Krum started competing just to see who was really the best, and they performed some impressive mid-air stunts.

However, it was as the match continued that Harry began to realise that he had a slight edge over Krum. Harry wasn't sure if he would have had the same edge if he'd played Krum at the height of his career, but the fact was Krum had several years on him, and Harry was slightly fresher than the veteran seeker. Harry was also smaller, therefore more aerodynamic than Krum, which he demonstrated by flying through one of the goals once he had sight of the snitch. At the time, he already had a head-start on the rival seeker, and his short cut through the goal gave him a big enough lead to plan his approach towards the snitch, and not only grab it and win the match, but to do it in considerable style.

The second Harry's fingers closed around the tiny golden snitch, the stadium erupted in noise and it suddenly hit him what he'd helped achieve. Slowing to an almost standstill, he gazed down at the now unmoving snitch in his hands and let it sink in that he'd caught the snitch which had won the World Cup for his country. Although Harry's contemplation was short lived as he heard whooping and cheering and looked up just in time to avoid the rest of the team flying right into him.

"We've done it," Draco cried excitedly, clapping Harry on the back. "We've won the World Cup!"

"That is going to take some getting used to," Harry replied with a chuckle.

"Get used to it, you'll be even more of a star after this," Draco laughed. "I can picture the headlines now – Harry Potter, The Boy Who Won the World Cup."

"I didn't do it alone," Harry pointed out. "You were pretty awesome yourself, Draco. We had enough of a lead so that if I'd missed the snitch, we still would have won."

"But it's better this way," Draco said with a grin. "We've won in style."

"It does feel good to beat the best seeker in the world," Harry admitted.

"Krum's had his day Harry," Draco said. "I think we can all agree that you're the best seeker in the world. Isn't that right lads?" he called to the rest of the team.

"Harry! Harry! Harry!" the rest of the team began to chant as they formed into an arrow shape, so the team could take a victory lap around the stadium.

At the head of the arrow, Harry couldn't help but grin as all six of his team-mates behind him chanted his name. And as they flew around the stadium the chant was picked up by the crowd, and before long the entire stadium was chanting for Harry. No doubt the rest of the team would be hailed as heroes as well, but it was clear that the star of the team had turned out to be Harry.

After a couple of laps around the stadium, basking in the applause and cheering, Draco took over at the head of the arrow and he led the team towards the box where their loved ones were sitting. The actual presentation of the World Cup would take place in the Minister's Box, which was a few stands over from where their families were sitting, but before that, Draco wanted a chance to share his joy with the people he loved.

Arriving at the box, Draco elegantly hopped off his broomstick at the front of the stand. Instantly he was swamped by four little bodies as Aidan, Georgie, Freddie and Roxie all hugged him tightly. Ruffling four sets of red heads, he moved past the children, who'd turned their attentions towards Harry who had disembarked behind him. Accepting congratulations from his parents and friends, he headed straight for his wife and regardless of the entire stadium watching the action in the stand, he swept her up into his arms and gave her a searing kiss.

"Wow," Hermione breathed when their lips parted, although Draco didn't let her go out of his arms. "And here was me thinking you didn't like public displays of affection."

"Sod the public, I've just won the World Cup and I think I'm entitled to a kiss from my wife," Draco replied in a breathless voice.

"I heartily agree," Hermione whispered, reconnecting their lips for a second time.

"Put him down, Hermione," Harry laughed as he moved past his two kissing friends to embrace Daphne.

"I knew you would do it," Daphne gushed as Harry swung her around in his arms, totally oblivious to Ron and Ginny watching with open mouths in the next stand over.

"Of course, they were going to do it," Charlie called as the Weasleys arrived to congratulate Harry.

"Is Sirius not here?" Harry asked, glancing around in the hopes of seeing his godfather.

"I haven't seen him," Molly admitted, giving Harry a sympathetic smile. "But I'm sure when he hears about this, he'll be so proud of you."

"I just wish he could have seen it for himself," Harry replied with a slight sigh. It was disappointing that Sirius hadn't made the match, but he wasn't going to let it ruin his euphoric feeling.

Turning back towards Daphne, he suddenly spotted a commotion in the next stand over, and his mouth dropped open in surprise when he found Sirius climbing over the seats to make his way towards him. Waving manically, Sirius continued to plough his way through the crowds and when he reached the barrier that separated the two stands, he vaulted over it and all but ran to Harry.

"I didn't think you were here," Harry gasped as his godfather wrapped him in his arms.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Harry," Sirius said with a beaming smile. "Admittedly, I was a bit late and the damn security wouldn't let me into the stadium. But I waited until they were distracted and snuck in. But I ended up over the over side of the stadium, so I've been making my way over here for the last hour."

"But did you see me catch the snitch?" Harry asked.

"I did," Sirius confirmed, sounding like a proud parent. "You were brilliant, Harry. In fact, the whole team were. You deserved to win."

"I'm so pleased you're here," Harry said to his godfather, giving Sirius a large grin before finally turning his attention back to his girlfriend. "In fact, I'm pleased you're all here," he said, addressing his loved ones, which included Draco's friends and family.

"Here we go," Draco whispered to Hermione. The pair had stopped kissing, but he was still standing beside her with his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Daphne," Harry began solemnly as he took hold of his girlfriend's hand and sunk down on one knee.

Daphne emitted a gasp at Harry's actions, while Molly squealed excitedly. As for the rest of the stadium, their focus was all on the England box and an expectant silence fell as they watched what was happening with baited breath. However, Harry wasn't focused on all the people watching and waiting, all he was focused on was his beautiful girlfriend.

"You mean the world to me," he continued, still gazing up at Daphne. "Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife? I don't have a ring for you at this exact moment, but I can offer you this."

Holding out the hand that wasn't holding onto Daphne, Harry offered her the golden snitch he'd just caught in the match. He did have an engagement ring back at the hotel, but it hadn't been practical to keep it on him while he played, so all he had to offer was the snitch.

"Yes, I'll marry you, Harry," Daphne replied happily.

"And will you accept this snitch as a token of my love?" Harry asked.

"I'd be delighted to," Daphne laughed, taking the golden snitch from Harry before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.

As the couple's lips met, the entire stadium erupted once again, and even the Bulgarian fans and players clapped and cheered the news of Harry's engagement. Only once the cheering began to quieten down did the announcer take to the loud speaker and announce it was time for the presentation.

"Come on Harry, we've got to go," Draco said, all but tearing Harry out of Daphne's arms. "I'm sure you and Daph can celebrate later."

"Damn right we will. You me, and your glasses," Daphne replied, giving Harry a saucy wink.

"Can't wait," Harry returned with a grin, and snatching one more quick kiss with his new fiancée, he grabbed his broom from the front of the stand and took off with the rest of the team.

While Draco, Harry and the rest of the England team, made their way over to the Minister's Box for the final presentations, Hermione returned her attention to the two Weasleys in the next box over. She easily found Ron and Ginny, and judging from the shocked looks on their faces, events following England's win had come as a bit of a shock to them. Knowing that now wasn't the time or the place for confrontations, Hermione made a decision. Quickly checking with Molly that she was okay with what she'd decided, Hermione slipped away from the euphoric group, who were waiting to see England finally lift the World Cup, and like Sirius before her, she hopped over the barriers into the next stand.

By this point, most people's focus was across the stadium, where the World Cup was going to be presented, so she reached Ron and Ginny without too much of a hassle. When she did reach the pair, neither of them seemed to know what to say, and Hermione could clearly see the shock in their eyes. Although whether they were shocked that she'd approached them, or if they were still reeling from Harry's proposal, Hermione didn't know.

"It's good to see you both," Hermione said, even though she wasn't quite sure that she meant it.

"You too, Hermione," Ginny mumbled when Ron opened his mouth to speak and nothing came out.

"I can't stay and chat, I've got to get back before they present England with the trophy," Hermione said. Luckily, they started with the losing team, and currently the Bulgarians were receiving their runner-up medals. "But I would like to talk to you, in fact we all would. There's going to be a party tonight for the England team, we would like you to come."

"You would?" Ron squeaked, finally finding his voice.

"We all would," Hermione confirmed. "I'll leave your names with the security at the hotel. I hope to see you there, but if you don't want to come, I'll understand. But can I just ask that if you do choose not to come, that you at least try and speak to your parents and brothers. They miss you."

Giving the pair the name and address of the hotel, Hermione returned to her own stand to watch England lift the trophy and her husband and best friend revel in the glory they deserved. The ball was now in Ron and Ginny's court, and what happened next was up to them. Either they came to the party and were reunited with their family, or they chose to walk away as though the day hadn't happened. Either way it was their choice, and Hermione was just grateful that there had been no major drama. All she could hope was that if the pair did decide to attend the party that they could behave themselves and not cause a scene.


	7. Chapter 7

Given that there was a chance Ron and Ginny would turn up at the victory party, Hermione decided it was best to warn Harry and Draco of the pair's presence. However, it was complete and utter chaos immediately following the match, and the press and public made it impossible to talk to either of them in private. Instead Hermione had to wait until they were back at the hotel, where she invited herself and Draco into Harry and Daphne's room before they got ready for the party.

"Today is the best day ever," Harry declared with a whoop of joy as he swung Daphne around in his arms. "First, I win the world cup, and then the most beautiful witch in the world agrees to become my wife."

"It's great, Harry," Hermione said softly.

"You don't sound so sure," Harry remarked with a slight frown. "Is it because I called Daphne the most beautiful witch in the world? Because you know I love you Hermione, and you're also very beautiful."

"Hey Potter, stop flirting with my wife," Draco scolded mockingly.

"Why, afraid of the competition, Malfoy?" Harry shot back with a wide grin.

"I could wipe the floor with you," Draco scoffed.

"Now, now boys, don't fight," Daphne tutted.

"You're right, we should be celebrating," Harry declared happily. "Who's for champagne?"

"Before you get too carried away, I need to tell you something," Hermione interrupted, stopping Harry from ordering room service.

"It sounds serious," Draco said with a slight frown. "Is everything okay?"

"Hopefully," Hermione replied unsurely. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"I don't understand," Harry frowned. "What's going on, Hermione? What's got you so worried?"

"I ran into someone unexpected at the match this afternoon," Hermione replied. "Or rather two unexpected people."

"Two unexpected people?" Harry questioned, not understanding what Hermione was getting at.

However, Draco was quicker than his friend and he instantly knew just who his wife was talking about. "Weasley and his sister," he guessed.

"Ron and Ginny?" Harry gasped. "Really?"

"They were in the stand next to ours," Hermione explained. "They didn't look too pleased to see me at first, but I couldn't just ignore them."

"What did you do?" Draco asked his wife.

"I invited them to the party tonight," Hermione confessed.

"Why?" Draco asked. "Haven't they refused to speak to you for years?"

"Yes, it's true they left and haven't kept in touch, but we were friends for a long time," Hermione replied. "But it's not just about us. It's also about the rest of the Weasleys. Do you not think Molly and Arthur want to see their children again?"

"Were they there for the entire match?" Harry asked. He was still reeling from the unexpected news and he couldn't decide if he was happy or not that Ron and Ginny might be about to walk back into his life.

"I saw them pretty early on, and I spoke to them at the end," Hermione replied. "So yes, before you ask, unless they're very blind and very stupid they know who I am married to, and they know you've just asked Daphne to marry you."

"And do you think that will be a problem?" Daphne asked warily. The last thing she wanted was to be involved in any sort of disruption to what should be a celebratory party.

"If it is then they can leave," Harry said firmly as his wrapped his arm around Daphne's waist. "They were the ones who ran away and cut us off. If they'd wanted to stay friends, then they would have known all of this so today wouldn't have come as a shock to them."

"Are you mad at me for inviting them to the party?" Hermione asked her best friend. It had been a long time since they'd spoken about Ron, so she had no idea what Harry's current feelings on their former best friend were. "I hoped it would avoid an ugly scene. I didn't want them kicking off at the game, nor did I want them just turning up tonight and causing trouble."

"They still might cause trouble," Draco pointed out.

"As Harry said, if that's the case then they can leave again," Hermione said. "But I'm hoping they won't cause trouble. Especially as I reminded them that their family wants to see them. With any luck they'll behave."

"I suppose there's a first time for everything," Draco snorted.

"Hermione's right, inviting them to the party was the right thing to do," Harry said. "So, no, I'm not mad at you for inviting them, Hermione. If they're not going to cause trouble, it might be quite nice to see them again. Providing they've grown up of course."

"Let's hope that isn't the case and I haven't made a huge mistake," Hermione said.

"If they cause trouble then the mistake is theirs," Harry assured his best friend. "You've offered them an olive branch, Hermione. Let's just wait and see if they accept it."

**{}{}{}{}{}**

In another hotel, several miles away, Ron and Ginny were debating on whether to take Hermione up on her invite. Although to be fair, Ginny had already decided that they should attend the party. Ron, however, was too caught up in the days revelations to be able to think about the possibility of attending the party. He'd barely taken in the match itself following the realisation that Hermione was married to Draco Malfoy of all people, but then things had gotten even more surreal as Harry had very publicly proposed to Daphne Greengrass.

"Ron are you even listening to me?" Ginny called, snapping her fingers in front of Ron's face.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Ron asked his sister.

"I was saying that we should go to the party," Ginny repeated.

"I don't know if I can face it Gin," Ron confessed. "You saw Harry and Hermione today, both entangled with Slytherins. I don't think I can stand to watch them cosy up with the enemy."

"This isn't about Harry and Hermione," Ginny informed her brother. "This is about our family. How can we not go to the party when we know half our family will be there? Don't you want to see Mum and Dad? And what about Charlie and the twins? And our nieces and nephews. We have family we don't even know, Ron."

"Don't you think I know that, Gin," Ron snapped. "I want to see the family and meet the kids as much as you do. But we won't just be able to ignore Harry and Hermione."

"I'm sure we won't," Ginny conceded. "I guess the question is, do we keep our distance, or do we try and mend fences?"

"You want to make friends again?" Ron asked in disbelief. "What's brought this on? You seemed pretty anti Harry and Hermione earlier."

"That was when I thought they'd lied to me and gotten together behind my back." Ginny replied with a sheepish shrug. "But now I know they were telling the truth all along. There was nothing going on with them."

"And what, because they're not together everything is forgotten?" Ron questioned. "Have you forgotten that Harry just abandoned me? We were going into business together and he just dumped me."

"You didn't have a business, Ron," Ginny said gently. "Even you've admitted that. Face it, you were jealous of his quidditch opportunity and you let things get out of hand. This should have been sorted years ago."

"As if you've got room to talk," Ron snorted as he stalked over to the mini-bar in the room and cracked open one of the small bottles that cost a fortune. "You also ran, Ginny. Harry turned you down and rather than accept it, you came running to me. Face it, we're both as bad as each other."

"You're right, we are," Ginny admitted as she also helped herself to some liquor from the mini-bar. "But this could be the chance we never knew we needed. Sitting there today, so close yet so far from our family, made me realise how much I miss them, Ron. We're missing out on so much, and we only have ourselves to blame."

"I know we shouldn't have let things get so out of hand with the family," Ron reluctantly admitted. "But even if we sort things with the family, I don't think we can with Harry and Hermione."

"You mean you don't want to," Ginny said, correctly understanding what her brother meant.

"Fine, I don't want to," Ron snapped. "They're with Slytherins. They're not the people I thought they were Ginny. The friends I had wouldn't have dreamed of shaking up with snakes."

"People move on," Ginny remarked with a shrug. "And people change. Even before we left school, Harry had stopped hating Malfoy. Clearly they became friends when they played together."

"Even so, I can't believe Harry would let Hermione get involved with Malfoy," Ron said. "Hell, he even let her marry him."

"Let her?" Ginny questioned sternly, arching an unimpressed eyebrow at her brother. "I hate to burst your bubble, Ron, but Hermione is her own person and more than capable of making her own decisions. I'm sure Hermione made her own choices regarding Malfoy. And Harry was clearly a good friend and accepted it."

"Unlike me you mean?" Ron snorted. "Just say it Ginny, you think I'm a terrible friend. You judge me for walking away from Harry and Hermione."

"As you pointed out, I have no room to judge you," Ginny said. "But I will advise you to think carefully about what you do and say tonight, Ron. If you don't want to reunite with Harry and Hermione, then that's fine, but be sure before you say something that can't be taken back. We've been given a second chance, Ron, I don't know about you, but I plan on grabbing it with both hands."

**{}{}{}{}{}**

"Do you think they'll turn up?" Molly Weasley asked her husband as they got ready for the party.

The plan was currently for the couple to attend the first few hours of the party, before leaving to babysit the children so that the twins and their wives could have a good evening. However, Molly wasn't sure she wanted to leave the party early if her youngest two children were going to turn up after so many years. After Hermione had alerted them to Ron and Ginny's presence at the quidditch, Molly had barely noticed the match and had spent the time studying her two youngest children. It had killed her to be so close, yet not able to talk to them, and she was praying that they would turn up that evening and finally her family could be reunited.

"Even if they don't attend the party, Hermione did ask them to come and see us," Arthur reminded his wife. "They might not want to have a reunion with so many other people around."

"In other words, don't get my hopes up," Molly said with a sad smile.

"I just don't want you to be hurt again, Molly," Arthur said gently. He also wanted to reunite with his youngest two children, but he couldn't ignore the hurt they'd caused by running away the way they had.

"I won't be," Molly replied determinedly. "Ron and Ginny know we're here, so all I can do is hope they turn up and see us. But if they don't, I know that is their choice and that they don't want to see us. And as hard as it is to admit, we can't force them to do anything they don't want to. They're adults, and they have to be allowed to make their own decisions."

Arthur smiled at his wife's attitude, even though he knew that despite her determined words, she would still be heartbroken if Ron and Ginny hadn't visited before they went home. But he agreed with his wife, and he knew the decision of what happened next was down to his youngest two children.

With hope brimming in their hearts, Molly and Arthur finished getting ready before they joined their children and grandchildren and headed down to the party to celebrate England winning the Quidditch World Cup. Only time would tell if the party would play host to a Weasley family reunion. And it remained to be seen that if Ron and Ginny turned up, if they would behave, or if they would cause a scene that would make all the English papers and overshadow the momentous event that was being celebrated that evening.


	8. Chapter 8

The party for the England quidditch team was being held in the largest function room in the hotel, which also had access to the sprawling gardens. Food and drink were available and for the first few hours, the party was family friendly with several children milling around having fun. The actual World Cup was proudly on display and the players were happy to pose with the cup and their loved ones. A small smattering of press had also been invited for the first couple of hours of the party. However, once the children departed for the night, so did the press and the fun would really begin.

The party was already in full swing when Draco and Hermione arrived. Sirius, the Weasleys and Draco's family and friends were already present, and Harry and Daphne arrived shortly after Draco and Hermione. Daphne was now sporting a gorgeous emerald engagement ring and from the moment they entered the party, the couple were the focus of almost everyone's attention.

"I'm so pleased Harry proposed to Daphne today, it means they're getting all the attention," Draco remarked to Hermione.

"I'm sure you'll get your attention soon enough," Hermione chuckled, smiling affectionately at her husband.

"I don't want the attention," Draco argued. "I'm happy for Harry to be the star of the show."

"You say that, but you would soon start pouting if your contribution to the team was brushed aside," Hermione countered. "But let's face it, you're going to get attention as the winning World Cup captain."

"As long as the attention isn't too overwhelming," Draco replied, watching as the selected handful of reporters crowded around Harry and Daphne eager for a quote and a snap of the newly engaged couple and the ring Daphne was now sporting.

Luckily for Draco, the attention he received wasn't too overwhelming at all. Once the press had gotten him to give them a couple of quotes and taken a couple of pictures of him and Hermione, they were happy to leave him alone to enjoy his night. Luckily Harry and Daphne also managed to wave the press away and got a chance to enjoy themselves with their friends.

From the moment they'd arrived at the party, Hermione had wondered if Ron and Ginny would appear, but she got distracted from the idea of the pair turning up as she watched Draco and Harry posing for pictures with the World Cup and the two sets of Weasley twins. Hermione watched the fun and laughter with a smile on her face, and just witnessing the easy way in which Draco interacted with the children made her heart flutter. The couple had talked about children, and the fact they both wanted a family, but watching Draco with the young Weasleys made Hermione realise that she wanted children sooner rather than later. She wanted to have her own family with Draco.

The second Draco broke away from the children and made his way back to her, Hermione wrapped her arms around him and gave him a searing kiss.

"I want a baby," she blurted out as her husband held her in his arms.

"Right now?" Draco questioned, arching an eyebrow at Hermione.

"Not right this minute," Hermione laughed. "But hopefully soon. I was thinking earlier how nice it would be for our child to see you play quidditch for England. And just then watching you with the kids, it was so adorable, and I just know you're going to make the most amazing father. I want a family of our own, Draco."

"Are you sure you're ready? You're not just caught up in the moment?" Draco checked. "I know those lovable twins are enough to make anyone feel broody, but the best thing about them is that we can hand them back to their parents. We couldn't do that with one of our own."

"Of course, we could, it's what grandparents are for," Hermione joked. "I could totally picture us having a battle with your parents."

"I could too actually," Draco conceded. His parents hadn't been shy about their desire to become grandparents and he already knew that when the time came, they would be wanting to babysit as often as possible.

"But to seriously answer your question, yes I am ready," Hermione replied. "It's not a spur of the moment thing, Draco. Truth be told, I think it's something that's been weighing on my mind for a while. Today has just brought into focus how ready I am for us to become parents. But if you're not ready, we can wait."

"I'm ready," Draco replied with a grin. "Let's make a baby."

With a happy grin, Hermione reconnected her lips with Draco's and the pair lost themselves in the moment. In fact, if someone hadn't cleared their throat right beside them the couple might just have forgotten how in public they were and gotten a little bit carried away.

"What's this? Give the press a free show?" Harry laughed when the couple broke for air.

"Sorry, we're just happy," Hermione replied, finding that Harry wasn't alone, everyone else they were close to were also gathered around, watching them in amusement. "Can I tell them?" she asked Draco, not sure if he would be happy to share details of their private life, even with the people closest to them.

"Yeah, you can tell," Draco chuckled, knowing full well that Hermione was so excited that she would never be able to keep it quiet that they were trying for a baby.

"Are you pregnant?" Narcissa gasped excitedly.

"Not yet, but we have agreed to start trying," Hermione replied.

"That explains why you were virtually shagging in the middle of the room," Blaise joked.

"Hey Zabini, watch your language," Fred warned, jerking his head towards the children.

"Mummy, what's shagging?" Freddie asked, right on cue.

"It's a grown-up thing," Angelina explained, glaring at Blaise.

"Can we do it when we're bigger?" Aidan questioned, looking pleadingly up at Alicia.

"Zabini," George growled as all four children waited expectantly for an answer.

"Sorry," Blaise chuckled. "Let me make it up to you. There's a ball pool set up outside for the kids, why I don't take these squirts for some fun."

"You just want to join in, don't you?" Draco snorted, knowing his best friend all too well.

"It looks like fun," Blaise grinned.

Deciding it was the perfect way to distract the children a suggestion was made that they all headed outside for a bit of fun and fresh air. However, before they could leave the ballroom, Harry spotted two new party-goers entering the room. Finally, Ron and Ginny had arrived.

"We'll still take the children outside," Narcissa suggested, guessing that the Weasleys wouldn't want the kids around if things were going to get messy.

"Thank you Narcissa," Molly said, flashing the other witch a grateful smile.

Pansy and Theo also joined the exodus into the garden, leaving Harry and Daphne and Hermione and Draco as the only non-Weasleys present for the reunion.

"Who's going to make the first move?" Harry whispered, aware that Ron and Ginny had seen them and had paused as if they were unsure of what sort of welcome they would receive.

Harry's answer came in the form of Molly rushing over to her two youngest children. Arthur quickly followed suit, and what looked like an emotional reunion took place. After a couple of minutes, Molly and Arthur led Ginny and Ron over to where everyone else was waiting. As Ron and Ginny were reunited with their family, Hermione, Harry and their partners backed away slightly. However, they were close enough to hear George warning his siblings that there would be no instant forgiveness and they had to prove they would be keeping in regular contact with the family before they would be introduced to the nieces and nephews they didn't know.

For quite a while, Hermione and the other watched the Weasley family reunion, but the longer it was going on, the more Ron and Ginny kept stealing glances in their direction. Finally, Molly noticed she didn't have the full attention of her two youngest children, and after making them promise to return the following day for a proper catch-up, she announced it was time she and Arthur were calling it a night and taking the twins off to bed.

"We'll come with you," Fred said. "And we will also be expecting to see you tomorrow," he added to his two siblings.

Once the rest of the Weasleys had said their goodbyes and departed, there was an awkward silence as the old friends stood watching each other, while Daphne and Draco hung back, not wanting to get in the way.

"This is ridiculous," Ginny suddenly declared. "Congratulations on winning the World Cup, Harry. The team played great."

"Thanks," Harry replied with a small smile. "It's good to see the pair of you again."

"Really?" Ron questioned sceptically.

"Yes really," Harry confirmed. "You were my best friend, Ron. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Ron admitted with a sheepish smile.

"I guess we've got a lot of catching up to do," Harry said as he reached for Daphne and pulled her to his side. "Starting with some introductions. Ron, Ginny, this is my fiancée, Daphne."

"Wow look at that ring," Ginny gasped as Daphne politely offered her hand for the pair to shake, her large emerald ring catching the light as she did so.

"It looks expensive," Ron muttered with a thoughtful frown.

"It wasn't cheap," Harry said with a laugh.

"And let's guess, you've got a big fancy house, go on expensive holidays and shower Greengrass with gifts," Ron snorted.

"What are you getting at, Ron?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I think he's implying I'm a gold-digger," Daphne said sharply, catching on much quicker than Harry.

"Tell me you're not, Ron," Harry hissed, glaring at his old friend.

"Why else would she be with you, Harry?" Ron queried. "You're a big quidditch star with bucket loads of money. It's what appeals to people like her."

"People like me?" Daphne snapped. "And who exactly are people like me? Purebloods or Slytherins? Or is there some other reason for you to discriminate against someone you don't know. Because I'll have you know that I would love Harry even if he didn't have one Knut to his name."

"It's easy to say when he's a super rich quidditch star and you're wearing a rock worth more than some houses on your hand," Ron retorted.

"That is enough," Harry snarled. "I will not let you walk back into my life after eight years and allow you to talk to the witch I love like that. You know, I had hoped you would have grown up, Ron. But I see you're still the same immature teenager you were last time I saw you."

"And who's fault is that," Ron spat. "Maybe I wouldn't be this way if you hadn't turned your back on me."

"You were the one who left, Ron," Harry retorted. "And why? Because you were jealous of the chance I had. If you'd been the one the scouts were interested in, you would have jumped at their offers. And you know what, I would have been thrilled for you. But because it was me they were interested in, you couldn't handle it."

"What I couldn't handle was the way you left me in the lurch," Ron shot back. "We had plans, Harry. We were going to be partners."

"There was never any partnership," Harry snorted. "Firstly, we didn't have a business plan, and secondly even if we did, I would have been the one expected to fund the entire thing. Yet you still would have expected to be called my partner and take half of the profits, when really all you would have been was my employee. If anyone is a gold-digger, Ron, it's you."

"How dare you," Ron seethed as Harry took hold of Daphne's arm and turned his back on him. "Don't you walk away from me, Harry."

"I'm sorry Ron, but you ended our friendship the day you walked out on me," Harry said, glancing back over his shoulder. "I tried to give you a second chance, but all you did was insult the witch I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I don't have room for people like you in my life. So, this is goodbye. Have a nice life, Ron."

And without looking back a second time, Harry turned and waltzed off with Daphne. Ron watched them go with a gaping mouth. Turning to Ginny, he found his sister glaring at him, but it was nothing compared to the look he was receiving from Draco.

"And what's your problem, Malfoy?" he snapped, his annoyance now in full flow.

"Now why would I have a problem with you calling one of my best friends a gold-digger?" Draco drawled. "If I was Harry, I would have cursed you into next week. I certainly would if you dared to insult the witch I love."

"Ron wouldn't do that, would you Ron?" Hermione questioned sarcastically. After what she'd just witnessed, she wasn't exactly in the mood for forgiveness. "He wouldn't call me a gold-digger. It's not like I'm married to a wizard far richer than Harry, and I have far less money of my own than Daphne does. Did you know Daphne has a small fortune herself, Ron? No, of course you didn't. You just like to judge people."

"Like you're doing to me now," Ron snapped back. "You know, I had been wondering how someone like you ended up with Malfoy, but now I know. You're as rotten as he is, and the pair of you deserve each other. I'm glad I got out when I did. At least I wasn't sucked in by these rancid Slytherins."

"Don't worry Weasley, you never would have been part of our group," Draco scoffed. "And I think it's safe to say Hermione and Harry are better off without you in their lives."

"Harry's right, we don't have room in our lives for toxic people like you, Ron," Hermione said. "I'm sorry Ginny, this isn't aimed at you. If you want to get in touch, I'd love to have a drink with you sometime. But as for you, Ron, this is goodbye."

Taking a leaf out of Harry's book, Hermione took hold of Draco's hand and the pair walked away from Ron without a backwards glance.

"Go on run away," Ron shouted after them. "I didn't want to associate with Slytherins anyway. You can sod off the lot of you."

"Nice one Ron," Ginny muttered when people turned to stare.

"It wasn't my fault," Ron snapped. "I was going to play nice. It was those blasted Slytherins. That Greengrass witch was just as bad as Malfoy."

"To be fair, you did accuse her of being a gold-digger," Ginny pointed out. "In her shoes, I would have slapped you one."

"Don't you start, Ginny," Ron said with a defeated sigh. "When Mum and Dad hear about this, they're going to give us such a lecture. Maybe we should skip tomorrow and just go home."

"You can do what you like, but I intend to make amends with our family," Ginny said. "And for the record, it will be you getting the lecture, not me."

And for the third time that evening, someone walked away from Ron without looking back. Only when it was Ginny, he felt it so much more keenly. He was now all alone, and he knew that if he wasn't careful he was going to end up that way. Ginny hadn't said as much, but he suspected that she was going to let herself be persuaded to go back to England. The question was, did Ron want to join her or was he going to carry on living his new life in New Zealand away from his family and his old friends?


	9. Chapter 9

The atmosphere was tinged with nerves and anticipation as the Weasleys waited at a poolside table at their hotel for Ron and Ginny to appear. Although given the way things had gone the previous evening, they weren't even sure if Ron would turn up. After making a complete show of himself with Harry and Hermione, he'd stalked out of the party and he hadn't been seen since. Ginny had stuck around for a short while, offering apologies for Ron, but then she'd also left the party early and only time would tell if she would have persuaded Ron to catch-up with the family.

"So, what so we think?" Charlie asked as time slipped away and it became clear that if they were coming, Ron and Ginny were going to be late. "Are we just wasting our time here?"

"I thought Ginny at least would have turned up," Fred remarked. "She seemed keen enough last night."

"Maybe Ron got her to change her mind," George suggested. "I can't see him being as keen to face us this morning."

"I just want to know where I went wrong," Molly sighed. "What did I do to raise two children who would abandon their family and friends without a second thought? And Ron still doesn't seem to have grown up, at least Ginny seemed eager to make amends."

"This isn't your fault, Mum," Charlie assured his mother. "Ron and Ginny are adults, and they weren't children when they left home. But as you say, at least Ginny seems to have grown up and realised how foolish she'd behaved."

"Although it might have been a different story if she hadn't seen that Harry and Hermione were both with other people," George cautioned. "Let's not forget, one of her main reasons for running off was because she was convinced they were together. I dare like to bet that if she still thought that was the case, she wouldn't be as quick to make amends and return to the fold."

"Shh, George," Arthur hissed. "They're here," he remarked, nodding his head towards the hotel where Ron and Ginny had just emerged. "Let's all try and make this work."

Following Arthur's lead, everyone greeted Ron and Ginny warmly as the pair joined them and settled in the two empty seats.

"Where's Alicia and Angelina?" Ginny asked. "And the kids. We were hoping to meet our nieces and nephews."

"We did say that wouldn't be happening straight away," Fred reminded his little sister.

"And the kids are with Ange and Alicia at the quidditch stadium," George replied. "Harry and Draco have arranged for them to have a private tour and even a fly around the stadium before it's dismantled this afternoon."

"So Malfoy is with the kids?" Ron asked, his diastase evident by the scowl on his face.

"Yes, Draco is with the children," Fred said, emphasising the blond wizards given name. "And if you really want to be part of this family again, you're going to have to drop the attitude, Ron. Harry and Hermione are family, which makes Daphne and Draco family."

"Fred is right," Molly said, her tone leaving no room for Ron to argue or protest. "I want all my family back together, and that includes Harry, Hermione, their partners and when it happens, their children as well. It also includes you, Ron."

"We know what happened last night, but Harry has spoken to us this morning and he's assured us that he's willing to put it behind him," Arthur said. "Both him and Hermione have promised that they don't hold any grudges, and that they will be civil next time, and every other time, you meet."

"How big of them," Ron sneered. "And has it ever occurred to anyone, that maybe I wasn't the one in the wrong? That maybe I should be the one entitled to hold a grudge?"

"And what have you got to hold a grudge over?" Fred snorted. "You were the one who ran off, Ron. And you were the one who insulted a witch you don't even know last night."

"Please, it's obvious why Greengrass is with Harry," Ron retorted. "They went to school together for seven years, and she never showed any interest in him. Now he's a big, rich quidditch star, she's all over him."

"That is pathetic reasoning," George said. "Has it escaped your notice that Fred and I went to school with Angelina and Alicia, and nothing happened between any of us until after we'd left school. Or do you think they're also with us for our money? After all, Fred and I own a successful business."

"That's different, at least you were friends in school," Ron argued. "Besides, you went to the Yule Ball with Angelina, so there was at least some attraction there before you left school."

"Actually, I took Ange to the Yule Ball," Fred pointed out. "But none of this has anything to do with Harry and Daphne. For all you know they fancied each other in school and it was only when Harry became friends with Draco that they got to know each other and had a chance to act on their feelings."

"Did they like each other in school?" Ginny asked, wondering if it was Daphne rather than Hermione who was the reason why Harry had never given her a chance.

"I don't think so," Fred replied with a shrug. "I was just making the point that Ron has no idea what he's talking about. He doesn't know Daphne, and he certainly has no idea what her relationship with Harry is like. Maybe if he had stuck around he would know that Harry is the happiest he's ever been. He and Daphne are perfect together and I've never seen a couple more in love."

"Unless you look at Hermione and Draco," Charlie remarked. "Those two are totally into each other."

"Hermione is also the happiest she's ever been," George agreed. "You know Ron, these people were your friends. Instead of judging them and holding onto childish grudges, you should be happy for them. Both Harry and Hermione have found love and happiness, and it's a pity you haven't managed to do the same. Maybe if you had, you wouldn't be so bitter."

"If this is the way I'm going to be spoken to, I'm not sure I want to be part of this family any more," Ron said.

"Don't say that, Ron," Molly pleaded. "All we want is for you to accept that Harry and Hermione are part of this family as well. Even if you can't be friends again, you can at least be civil to one another. If Harry and Hermione can promise as much, so can you. Please Ron, I don't want to lose you again."

"We've said our piece, and no-one will bring up past events again," Arthur added. "Let's consider this a fresh start."

Ron nodded reluctantly as the topic of Harry and Hermione was dropped and instead attention turned to what Ron and Ginny had been up to in New Zealand. An hour later, Ron and Ginny had to be getting off as they were heading back home, but it was with the promise that they would keep in touch and they would visit the family back home in England as soon as possible.

"Will they stick to it?" Charlie asked the twins as Molly and Arthur said a prolonged goodbye with their two youngest children. Even though Ron and Ginny were his siblings he'd gone abroad when they were still children, so he often felt as though the twins knew and understood them better than he ever could.

"Ginny will," Fred said decisively. "And you can bet that once she's home, even if it's just for a visit, Mum will do her best to convince her to come home. My bet is that within the next couple of years, Ginny will be back at home."

"And Ron?" Charlie questioned.

"Ron is a law unto himself," George snorted. "You saw how he reacted today. He's incapable of letting the past go. I guess only time will tell if he comes around and re-joins the family. But I can say that he's lost the friendship of the two best friends he's ever likely to have. Harry and Hermione won't forgive him after this trip, and quite honestly who can blame them."

**{}{}{}{}{}**

While the Weasleys were having a family reunion everyone else, including Draco's friends and Sirius, were at the stadium where the World Cup final had been held. It was an experience of a lifetime for any quidditch fan and the children loved every minute, especially when Harry and Draco flew them around the stadium on their brooms and performed daring tricks with their help.

However, all good things must come to an end and by lunchtime the trip was over, and they returned to the hotel, where they met up with the Weasleys and all had lunch together. Over lunch the Weasleys filled the others in on what exactly had happened with Ron and Ginny, and their expectations that Ginny would certainly re-join the family, but Ron's fate remained up in the air.

After reassuring the Weasleys that they would cause no problems with Ron if he chose to return to the family fold, Harry and Hermione headed off to spend the afternoon with Draco and Daphne. Tomorrow they would all be returning home, and they intended to make the most of their final day in New Zealand.

"I'm sorry about how things have worked out with Ron," Daphne remarked as the two couples settled down with a drink in one of the outdoor bars.

"You weren't to blame," Harry assured his fiancée. "Ron was the one who never bothered to grow up."

"It's sad really when you think about it," Hermione said. "He's the one missing out. How bitter must you have to be to hold onto petty grudges from eight years ago? His own life must be pretty lacking if he's still so caught up in the past."

"Hermione's right," Harry agreed. "If Ron had a life of his own, he wouldn't be so resentful towards our happiness."

"I hope you don't expect me to feel sorry for Weasley," Draco snorted. "He's had eight years to build himself a good life, and if he's refused to do so that's his own fault. And it's certainly his fault that he's lost his two best friends. Anyone with even half a brain knows that true friends are invaluable."

"That they are," Harry said, smiling at Hermione. "And speaking of true friends, I have something I want to ask you, Hermione. Will you be my best man, or rather best woman, at my wedding?"

"Seriously?" Hermione asked.

"Seriously," Harry confirmed with a nod. "You're not just my best friend, you're my family. And I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have beside me when I get married. I know I could ask Draco, but I'm sure he'll understand."

"Of course, I understand," Draco said. "And I think it's a lovely idea."

"Is it okay with you, Daph?" Harry questioned.

"It does mean I'll have to find myself another chief bridesmaid," Daphne said with a playful sigh. "But I actually think that it's only right that Hermione is by your side on our wedding day," she added seriously.

"She hasn't accepted yet," Harry pointed out. "So, what do you say, Hermione? Will you do the honours?"

"Does it include giving an embarrassing speech?" Hermione asked with a devious smirk.

"You mean like Blaise did when you and Draco got married?" Harry laughed. "That was the best speech ever. He had the entire room in kinks."

"You do know he made half of that up, don't you?" Draco checked.

"You say that now, but at the time you were red with embarrassment," Harry retorted.

"Wouldn't you be embarrassed if your best friend told the story of how your parents met the witch you were marrying for the first time when they walked in on us having sex?" Draco queried.

"That would be uncomfortable," Harry admitted. "Bot nothing like that has ever happened to me."

"I could tell the story of how Sirius gave you the sex talk before sixth year," Hermione said.

"Don't all parents give their children the sex talk?" Daphne questioned with a frown.

"This wasn't about being careful, Sirius's advice was all about how to pleasure a witch," Harry confessed with a grimace as he recalled the embarrassing conversation. "You wouldn't believe the details he went into and the tips he gave me."

"Maybe I should thank him, you've certainly never left me wanting," Daphne said with a sly grin. "Clearly you listened to his advice."

"I did," Harry confirmed. "But we still don't need to tell that story at the wedding, Hermione. Just stick to how perfect Daph and I are together and how we're meant to be together. Go for romantic rather than raunchy."

"In that case we'll have to save the raunchy for your stag night," Draco laughed. "I'm hoping that even though Hermione is the best man, I still get to organise your stag night."

"That is one duty I'm happy to hand over," Hermione chuckled. "But just to be warned, if things get too raunchy, I won't be happy. Remember you're a married man, Draco Malfoy."

"And a happy one at that," Daphne added.

"As if I could forget," Draco tutted with a roll of his eyes.

"So, does this mean you'll do it?" Harry checked with Hermione.

"I will," Hermione confirmed. "You've got yourself a best woman."

"Thanks Hermione, you're the best," Harry grinned, giving his best fiend a hug. "Now for more drinks. We need to celebrate some more. This has been an epic trip. First, we win the World Cup, then Daphne and I get engaged and then you two decided to start a family. It's certainly been a time to remember."

Although while the previous few days had been a good time to remember, there had also been the reunion with Ron that hadn't exactly been one to remember. The reunion had proved once and for all that their friendship with Ron was well and truly over. He'd clearly just been meant to be in their lives for a short period of time, but luckily the friendship Hermione and Harry shared was much stronger and they both knew that they would be friends forever.

It was sad that Ron wasn't part of that friendship any more, but he'd made his choice and he'd chose to walk away. And it wasn't as if Harry and Hermione's lives had suffered without him. They both had lives they loved, with people they loved, and neither of them would change a thing. Life didn't depend on Ron Weasley, and both Harry and Hermione had done just fine without him in their life, and they would continue doing just fine without him.

**The End.**

* * *

**A/N – I just want to say thank you to everyone for reading yet another one of my stories, and I hope you all enjoyed it. As always, I appreciate all the support I get, and it keeps me writing. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting one-shots and collection pieces – including the launch of my new series – After The End. So thanks again, and I hope you all continue to enjoy my stories.**


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